Digital storytelling is an adequate means of communicating these experiences. It is defined as a short form of digital media production that allows people to share aspects of their life story. "Media" may include full-motion videos with sound, animation, stills, audio only, etc. which individuals can use to tell a story or present an idea. Digital stories are often presented in compelling, interactive and emotionally engaging formats. Recently, the use of maps and connected media for digital storytelling has increased. Story maps combine interactive maps and multimedia content into user experiences. Geographical location helps organizing and presenting information.The role of storytelling with maps in education has not been reviewed due to its contemporary nature. So far, there has been no research about the potential impact it might have on the engagement of learners. However, storytelling with maps offers high levels of active engagement as it allows people to personalise their contribution, it gives possibilities for creative collaboration, the potential for changing perceptions and opportunities for deep learning through discussion and sharing of the stories.The specific aims of the project are:- to explore factors of preventing drop-puts rates from school through digital storytelling and digital mapping- to enhance two key competences of early school leavers and those at risk of early school leaving: digital competence and communication competence- to raise awareness of the reasons of early school leaving and for the personal consequences of this decision- to pass on experiences from early school leavers to the next generation- to contribute to reducing drop-out rates from schoolThe project will start with a research phase on the results of previous projects related to early school leavers, and on the topic of digital storytelling and mapping. Based on the results of the research, the development of the project will follow: early school leavers will be trained to gain digital competences; then, they will put them into practice by producing visual materials which will be showed to the public afterwards.These aims will be pursued by the method of digital storytelling with maps. With this method, early school leavers are trained in key digital competence to tell their story of leaving and the consequences this decision had on their lives.The most important is the impact on the beneficiaries themselves. Early school-leavers (aged 15-25) will be motivated to re-enter education and training by:- reflecting their own life stories, the consequences of their decision to drop out, and the benefits of alternative pathways- increasing their self-esteem through being proud of their capacity to produce and publish high-quality digital content- acquiring key competences (digital competence, communication in the mother tongue, language competence) which increase their employability and may be the starting point new training and career pathways.Adult educators, teachers and youth workers working with young people with a background of (potential) early school-leaving will be made acquainted with an innovative approach which is extremely activating and motivating through using the beneficiaries’ inclination towards new media and through boosting their self-esteem by making them the subject and object of digital stories published in the internet.The Tell your story consortium brings together 6 partners from 6 European countries (France, Austria, Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, Slovenia). The project is coordinated by Pistes-Solidaires Civil society organisation working at European level from France.
Tell Your Story was developed to explore new tools for preventing early school leaving. While storytelling is increasingly used in non-formal animation, it is rarely combined with new technologies and more particularly with geographic information systems (GIS). The consortium behind this project, coordinated by Pistes-Solidaires, has therefore sought to explore this new path, thanks to the meeting of several actors in non-formal continuing education and universities. The idea was to involve young dropouts in digital mapping storytelling workshops so that they could share their stories with potential dropouts, to make them think about the impact on their lives of such a decision. The final objective was therefore to prevent the latter's dropping out of school, through media productions to which they are accustomed with, for example, social networks, as part of a peer education process. Pistes-Solidaires (France), CESIE (Italy), Rinova (United Kingdom) and RIS (Slovenia) provided expertise in non-formal methods while die Berater, an Austrian training centre, provided technical and numerical knowledge. Finally, Eurogeo (Belgium), the European association of geographers, was able to contribute very largely through its knowledge of GIS, in particular the ArcGIS platform. The project was structured in seven phases. During the first, the consortium worked on an overview of the use of storytelling in the fight against early school leaving, and on the best way in which storytelling could be used by digital mapping. This production, coordinated by Eurogeo, laid the foundations for the next phase. This consisted in the creation of a two-part curriculum for school dropouts and potential school dropouts. The first part was an introduction to storytelling, while the second part was intended to allow young people to create their own personal story through digital mapping by acquiring new skills, using the ArcGIS platform. The creations were then presented on an online exhibition. This was finally used in a module tested with young people at risk of dropping out: they were able to discover the stories presented and discuss with the facilitators in order to reflect on the risks of dropping out. The first feedback from the participants was very positive. The project was concluded with the creation of a publication that presents the project, its methodology and results. Tell Your Story was set up through partnerships with schools, youth organisations, training institutes, local authorities and reached 200 young people, dropouts and potential dropouts, as well as some 50 organisations working with them. The impact of the project, reinforced by the dissemination events, is likely to continue: several organisations have already asked to be trained to use the tools developed, in particular the "Institut du Travail Social de Pau", which is organising a seminar on "school drop in" the 31th of January 2019 during which educators and National Education staff will be trained in this method. A second training session will be implemented for educators in the Pau conurbation on February 1st, while another session for educators in a home-shelter (la Sauvegarde) will be implemented on February 25th and 26th, 2019. In this context, the workshops are implemented directly for 10 young people from one of their homes, in the presence of educators, psychologists, teachers and department heads who wish to be trained in this method and these tools.